You’d been dating Oliver Wood for a year — a full year of sneaking into each other’s common rooms, stolen post-practice kisses, and him walking you to class even when he was already late to his own. It was the safest place you’d ever been.

Until the new professor arrived.

Professor Hadrian Flint. Charismatic, polite, but something about him made your skin crawl from the beginning. He treated most students normally, but with you… it was off. Too many questions that had nothing to do with the lesson. Hand lingering on your shoulder. Standing behind you when you worked, close enough to feel his breath.

Oliver never knew. And Flint never knew you belonged to Oliver.

You kept it that way on purpose — you didn’t want Oliver to get angry, and you definitely didn’t want Flint knowing anything more about your life.

So you kept quiet.

Until things got bad.

The professor started giving back assignments with marks slashed across them, points taken for things you knew were correct. Sometimes he would hand you an essay and lean down, whispering, “Perhaps if you focused more, your performance wouldn’t disappoint me.”

You felt sick every time you walked into his classroom.

And your grades… dropped fast.

You started sleeping badly, skipping meals, zoning out during Quidditch matches. Everything felt heavy, like you were walking with weights tied to your ankles. Anxiety gnawed in your stomach, and you flinched every time Flint called your name.

And Oliver — who noticed everything about you — finally reached his limit.

“You’re not okay.”

You looked up from your parchment. Oliver stood in front of your table, hair messy from practice, eyes locked onto you with that familiar stubborn tenderness.

“I’m fine,” you mumbled.

“No, you’re not.” He sat down across from you, leaning forward. “You’re tired all the time, distracted, and you haven’t smiled in days. Love, something’s wrong.”

He reached across the table, brushing his fingers over your knuckles. You pulled your hand back.

His brows knit in confusion. “Did I do something to upset you?